[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64772-64773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23242]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC491]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application; for an enhancement of 
survival permit for a programmatic safe harbor agreement to enhance 
summer streamflow in Coastal California creeks and rivers.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS's West Coast Region (WCR), announce receipt of an 
application for an enhancement of survival permit (Number 25838) under 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, and proposed entry into an 
associated Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (PSHA) between the NOAA 
Restoration Center (Applicant) and NMFS-WCR. The proposed enhancement 
of survival permit, which is issued by NMFS-WCR, and PSHA is intended 
to improve habitat conditions and promote the conservation and recovery 
of seven species of ESA-listed salmonids in Coastal California.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the actions 
proposed in the application must be received at the appropriate address 
or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard 
time on November 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the application should be submitted to 
the California Coastal Office, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 
95404. Comments may also be submitted via fax to (707) 578-3435, or by 
email to: [email protected] (include the permit numbers 
in the subject line of the fax or email).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Charrier, Santa Rosa, CA (ph.: 
707-575-6069; Fax: 707-578-3435) email: 
[email protected]. The permit application is available 
upon request through the contact information above, or online at 
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following ESA-listed species (Covered Species) are covered in 
this notice:

     Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)--Central California 
Coast (CCC) and Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC)
     Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha).--California Coastal (CC)
     Steelhead (O. mykiss)--Central California Coast (CCC), 
Northern California (NC), South-Central California Coast (S-CCC), and 
Southern California Coast (SCC)

Authority

    Enhancement of survival permits are issued in accordance with 
Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(A)) and 
regulations governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR part 
222, subpart C). NMFS-WCR issues permits based on findings that such 
permits: (1) are applied for in good faith; (2) if granted and 
exercised, would not operate to the disadvantage of the listed species 
that are the subject of the permit; (3) are consistent with the 
purposes and policies of Section 2 of the ESA; (4) would further a bona 
fide and necessary or desirable scientific purpose or enhance the 
propagation or survival of the endangered species, taking into account 
the benefits anticipated to be derived on behalf of the endangered 
species; and additional issuance criteria (as listed at 50 CFR 
222.308(c)(5) through (12)). The authority to take

[[Page 64773]]

listed species is subject to conditions set forth in the permits.
    Anyone requesting a hearing on an application listed in this notice 
should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on that application 
would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such hearings are held at the 
discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.

Permit Application Received

    The Applicant is requesting an enhancement of survival permit (ESP) 
and execution of an associated PSHA. The PSHA would have a term of 10 
years and exclusively cover streamflow augmentation by local government 
or private landowners during the late spring, summer, and early fall 
utilizing off-channel water sources, such as storage ponds or 
groundwater wells. The covered area would include all California 
coastal waterways draining to the Pacific Ocean (excluding the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers). The Applicant would receive the 
ESP, and extend a Certificate of Inclusion to interested landowners 
that qualify under the PSHA. To obtain a Certificate of Inclusion, a 
landowner would need to enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
Applicant and adopt an annual plan, monitoring regimes, and agree to 
provide post-project summaries. The issuance of a Certificate of 
Inclusion would not preclude the need for the landowners to abide by 
all other applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. In 
order to be eligible for a Certificate of Inclusion, landowners must 
meet all criteria and agree to the terms outlined in the PSHA.
    The ESP would authorize incidental take that may occur as a result 
of implementing the PSHA. Management activities outlined in Section 9 
of the PSHA could harm, kill, or cause the capture of Covered Species 
through stranding caused by unanticipated interruptions in flow 
augmentation, or water quality degradation resulting from poor source 
water. Water Releases could cause take in the form of harassment, 
direct mortality, or injury to juvenile life stages of the Covered 
Species by disrupting feeding behavior or migration behavior, or 
stranding, or causing other behavior modifications. Also, when the 
landowner returns their property subject to the PSHA (Enrolled 
Property) to baseline conditions (defined as the natural streamflow 
without supplementation) as specified in the PSHA, dewatering and 
relocation activities could harm or kill individuals of the covered 
species. NMFS-WCR anticipates that incidental take will be unlikely and 
will only occur should unforeseeable or unavoidable circumstances 
arise. The risk of such incidental take would be further avoided or 
minimized through implementation of the measures outlined in Section 12 
of the PSHA.
    This PSHA is expected to provide a net conservation benefit for the 
Covered Species and contribute, either directly or indirectly, to the 
recovery of the Covered Species, which supports the issuance of an ESP 
by NMFS-WCR pursuant to Section 10(a)(l)(A) of the ESA in accordance 
with 50 CFR 222.308. Management activities are expected to benefit the 
Covered Species by increasing smolt emigration, juvenile migration, and 
redistribution success, and improving juvenile rearing habitat. These 
benefits are expected to ultimately increase the population abundance 
and distribution of the Covered Species.
    Under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NMFS' joint Safe Harbor 
Policy (64 FR 32717, June 17, 1999), safe harbor agreements provide 
incentives to property owners to restore, enhance, or maintain habitats 
and/or populations of listed species that result in a net conservation 
benefit to these species. Under the policy, landowners are provided 
certainty relative to future property-use restrictions, even if their 
conservation efforts attract listed species onto enrolled properties or 
increase the numbers or distribution of listed species already present. 
Subject to specifications in the relevant documents, these regulatory 
assurances allow the landowners to alter or modify enrolled property, 
even if such alteration or modification results in the incidental take 
of a listed species to such an extent that it returns the species back 
to the originally agreed upon baseline conditions.
    Upon approval of the PSHA and consistent with the safe harbor 
policy, NMFS-WCR will issue an ESP to the applicant. The ESP will 
authorize the Applicant (and, here, landowners approved for a 
Certificate of Inclusion) to take covered species incidental to the 
implementation of the activities specified in the cooperative 
agreements, annual plans, and PSHA, incidental to other lawful uses of 
the enrolled properties, and to return to present baseline and elevated 
baseline conditions, if specified. In addition to meeting other 
criteria, actions to be performed under the enhancement of survival 
permit must not jeopardize the existence of ESA-listed species.

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuance of an ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) permit constitutes a Federal 
action requiring NMFS-WCR to comply with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented by 40 CFR 
parts 1500 through 1508 and NOAA Administrative Order 216-6, 
Environmental Review Procedures for Implementing the National Policy 
Act (1999). NMFS will evaluate the application(s) and determine the 
level of NEPA analysis needed for this action.

Public Comments Solicited

    NMFS-WCR invites the public to comment, including any written data, 
views, or arguments, on the permit application during a 30-day public 
comment period beginning on the date of this notice. This notice is 
provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)), 50 
CFR 222.303. All comments and materials received, including names and 
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and may be 
released to the public. We provide this notice in order to allow the 
public, agencies, or other organizations to review and comment on these 
documents.

Next Steps

    NMFS-WCR will evaluate the application, associated documents, and 
comments submitted to determine whether the application meets the 
requirements of Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and its implementing 
regulations. The final permit decision will not be made until after the 
end of the 30-day public comment period and after NMFS-WCR has fully 
considered all relevant comments received. NMFS-WCR will also meet 
other legal requirements prior to taking final action, including 
compliance with Section 7 of the ESA. NMFS-WCR will publish notice of 
its final action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: October 20, 2022.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-23242 Filed 10-25-22; 8:45 am]
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